TheJournalofNegroEducation,76 (4), 609-622
TheRole ofAfricanAmericanMentorTeachersin
PreparingWhitePreserviceTeachersforAfrican
AmericanStudentPopulations
JeanMoule
Karen M. Higgins
OregonStateUniversity
OregonStateUniversity
How do we bridgethe mismatchbetweenteachersand studentsbased on race and ethnicity
in our nation'sschools? The teaching
White,whilethe
forceremainsoverwhelmingly
currently
students
color
continues
to
rise.
Because
cultural
teachers
dissonance,
of
of
percentageofK-12
may not understandthe needs of theirstudents.This studyshows evidenceof bridgingthis
findingsby othersof the impactfieldworkamongelementary
preparationgap and confirms
studentsof color mayquicklymakeon preserviceteachers' perspectivesand abilitiesto teach
the authorsuncoverevidencethatAfricanAmericanmentor
childrenof color. Additionally,
and successfulteachersofAfrican
teachersare criticalinhelpingtoproduceculturally
competent
White
teachers
with
limited
Americanchildren,
indiversity.
especially
preservice
experiences
Introduction
How do we bridgethe mismatchbetweenteachersand studentsbased on race and ethnicity
in ournation'sschools?The teachingforceremainsoverwhelmingly
Whitewhilethe
currently
K-12
In
of
students
of
color
continues
to
rise.
one
Finders
report,
(1992) stated,"As an
percentage
I
voices
from
own
farm
to
my
family,
echoingas alwaysfromsome
Angloteacher, struggle quiet
unstatedstandard."
She asked,"How can we untangleourown deeplyentrenched
assumptions?"
theneedsof their,
students,
(p. 60). Because of culturaldissonance,teachersmaynotunderstand
to teachis notequivalent
to beingprepared
to teachstudents
andbeingprepared
ofcolor(Watson,
Szczesiul,& Gordon,2006).
Charner-Laird,
Kirkpatrick,
This studyshows evidence of bridgingthis preparation
gap throughlived and shared
and
confirms
others
of
the
students
findings
by
experiences,
impactplacementamongelementary
of colormay quicklymake in preserviceteachers'perspectives
Carter
&
Howell,
(Aaronsohn,
forhelpingto overcometheoverwhelming
1995). Thisworkhas implications
presenceof White
in ournation'sschools(Sleeter,2001). Furthermore,
evidenceis shownthatAfrican
perspectives
Americanmentorteachersare criticalin helpingto produceculturally
and successful
competent
teachersofAfricanAmericanchildren.
Context and Purpose
TeacherEducationProgram(PTEP) is a graduate-level
The University's
Professional
program
in an initialteachinglicense,withrequisitesforcompleting
a Masterof Artsin
culminating
havebeen madeto bringa morediversestudent
Teachingdegree.Althoughattempts
population
intotheprogram,
therealityis thatthemajority
of thepreserviceteachersat theUniversity
are
Whiteand middleto upper-middle
class. Because of supervision
themajority
of the
constraints,
School District
preserviceteachersalso completetheirstudentteachingwithinthe University
which
surrounds
the
The
student
within
the USD,
USD)
(pseudonym,
university.
population
and socioeconomically
diverse,is lackingin culturaland racial
althoughsomewhatlinguistically
atthetimeofthestudy).
9% ofthemareidentified
as minority
diversity
(ofthe7,600students,
As theproportion
andnumberof children
of colorin thenation'sschoolsincreases,theneed
for teacherswho have multicultural
perspectivesis heightened.Barryand Lechner(1995)
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
609
thatteachingabout different
demonstrated
culturalgroupsmay actuallyincreaseor affirm
teachers'
Other
researchers
preservice
(Asher,2007; Furman,2007; Ladson-Billings,
stereotypes.
& Carter,2007) confirm
the
2001; Lewis,2003; Middleton,
2002; Ramsey,2004; Webb-Johnson
of issuesaroundteachereducationin a pluralistic
teachersrealize
complexity
society.Preservice
to teachin culturally
diversesettings,
theyneedpreparation
yet,evenafterthebestof programs,
feeluncomfortable
forthetask(Sleeter,2001).
orunder-prepared
As members
oftheelementary
educationfaculty
in theCollegeofEducationat theUniversity
the authorsobservedthatthepreserviceteacherswere gainingcomfortability
in theirprimary
student
in
the
USD.
Were
to
seek
future
roles
with
childrenthey
teachingplacement
theylikely
couldidentify
with?Could one enlargetheirboundariesand theirunderstanding
by leadingthem
to experience
otherwaysto interact
andotherwaysofknowing?BlairandJones(1998) described
howteacher-student
interaction
stylesmayseverelyhamperthelearning
processfora childwhose
culturaldiscoursestylediffers
greatlyfromtheteacher'sstyle.No matterhow brightand wellteachersare,couldtheybreakoutoftheirsetscriptsforbehavior?
meaningpreservice
Justgetting
to knowpeopleofcolor,increasespreservice
teachers'abilityto worksensitively
withchildrenof color in the classroom(Duarte& Reed, 2004; Hinchey,1994; Moule, 2007;
Sleeter,2001; Stachowski& Mahan, 1998). Such experiencesreplace preserviceteachers'
withsharedhumanconnections.
andHowell(1995) concludedthat
Aaronsohn,
Carter,
stereotypes
"Once insidethe school . . . studentsexperienced
the shockthataccompaniesa contradiction
betweenexpectations
and reality"(p. 8). Perhaps,thekey to preparing
preserviceteachersfor
classroomsis notsimplythrough
aboutdiversity,
buta
culturally
pluralistic
readingand thinking
richimmersion
experiencein anotherculture.The researchers
proposedan Eisenhowergrantthat
wouldgive thepreserviceteachersthisimmersion
school.Would a
experiencein an inner-city
like
this
work
as
a
to
in
It
increase
and
desire
to
teach
urban
contexts?
program
way
sensitivity
was idealistic.Itwas funded.
Now what?
Aftermonthsofplanningandweeksofwork,thirteen
teacherswereplacedon-site
preservice
at FannieHamerElementary
School(pseudonym)
in a largeurbandistrict
inthenorthwestern
part
of townforthreeweeks. The populationof Hamerwas about730 studentsand included620
AfricanAmericanchildren.
The.preservice
teacherswereplaced in eightdifferent
classrooms.Five pairsof preservice
teacherswereplaced withfivementorteachersand threelone preserviceteacherswereplaced
withothermentorteachers.Seven of thementorteacherswereteachersof colorand fivewere
AfricanAmerican.All preserviceteacherstaughta mathematics
or scienceworksamplethat
necessitated
of 10 lessons,a staterequirement
forreceivingan
teachinga unitwitha minimum
initialteachinglicense.In addition,a seriesof workshops
wereheldpriorto and duringthetime
thepreserviceteacherswereat Hamer.MentorteachersfromHamercame to theUniversity
to
strandof theworkshops,
and on-sitesciencelessonsand workshops,
help supportthediversity
were facilitatedat Hamer for and withteachers,university
faculty,and preserviceteachers.
on-site
this
University
faculty
provided
support
during experience.
The overallpurposeof thisstudywas to strengthen
the classroompracticesof preservice
Whiteteachersfora diversestudentpopulationwhileprovidingstrong,on-sitesupportin this
diversesetting.The projectalignedwell withthe PTEP missionstatement:
"The purposeof
teachereducationis to createcaring,reflective
who are committed
to buildinga
professionals
democratic,multicultural
society that enhances economic equity and culturalpluralism"
(Winograd,2001,p.1).
The focusof thisreportwas theWhitepreserviceteacherswho wereplaced withAfrican
Americanmentors
to answer,"Weretherespecificbenefitsfrompairingthepreservice
teachers
withAfricanAmericanmentor
teachers?"
Literature Review, Research Perspectives, and Theoretical Foundations
Of thestudiesreviewedrelatedto preparing
teachersforteachingin or aboutdiversity,
preservice
one-half
looked
at
teacher
attitudes.
The otherslookedat some
approximately
only preservice
610
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
teacherself-reporting.
aspectsof teacherpracticeas well, but a numberof thesewerethrough
Studieson actualfieldobservations
wererare.Althougha lack of connection
betweentheoryand
a
or
even
of
theoretical
base
for
in
field
has
been
noted
thepastby Guyton
practice,
experiences,
andMclntyre
to
(1990), andWashington
(1981), otherstudieshavebeguntomakethisconnection
theimpactof fieldwork
(Duarte& Reed,2004; Goodman& Fish,1997; Goodwin,2004; Higgins
& Moule,inpress;Hill,2000; Lewis,2003; Parsons,2005; Ramsey,2004; Sleeter,2001; Sobel &
& Mahan,1998;Weinstein,
Tomlinson-Clarke
& Curran,
French,1998;Stachowski
2004).
The authorsdidnotfinda largebodyofworkconnecting
thecollegeinstruction
ofpreservice
teachersto theK-12 classroomperformance
of thesepreserviceteachersin thearea of cultural
nor were well-established
or clear directionsfoundon how to best focus limited
diversity,
resourcesandenergyto thiseffort.
offieldwork
in the
Manyofthecitedworkshavea component
innercity,so thatwas a clear priority.
The nextstep was to beginto understand
the theory
boththecurrent
andthisstudy.
underlying
thinking
and thepreserviceteacherswithwhomtheyworkuse culturallensesthat
The researchers
formthe basis of thinking
abouttheorywhen engagingin multicultural
education.Preservice
teachers'thinking
aboutmulticultural
issues in education,whetherrootedin basic Eurocentric
beliefs(Ramsey,2004), unexamined
racial
(Loewen, 1995),personalhistory-based
assumptions
or
course
work
formulates
the
that
material,
(Marshall,
2002),
privilege
theory theybringwith
themintotheK-12 orcollegeclassroom.
aboutthe worldafter
Hinchey(1994) wrestledwiththe issue of deeplyheld assumptions
herdaughter
deal withnewinformation
aboutothers,
watching
We all hold beliefsabout the worldbornof our past experiencesand shapedby the languages,customs,and
of theculturesin whichwe are immersed
frombirth.Often,thesebeliefsare so embeddedthatwe are
assumptions
unawareofthemuntilsomestartling
calls intoquestiona deeplyheldconviction,
experience
(p. 28)
The dividinglinebetweensuccessfulandunsuccessful
multicultural
educatorsmaybe thosewho
are willingto challengetheirassumptionswiththose who are not, regardlessof theirown
Thistransformation
is calledbecomingculturally
andis definedsimplyas
background.
competent,
withchildrenwho come fromculturesotherthanone's own.
being able to workeffectively
it entailsmastering
a complexsetof awarenessesand sensitivities,
Furthermore
variousbodiesof
cross-cultural
knowledge,and a unique set of skillsthatunderlieeffective
teaching(Diller &
whatyoualreadyknow,gainingspecificculturalknowledge
Moule,2005). It means"broadening
and remainingvigilantas to the culturalappropriateness
of various tasks, methods,and
takeforgranted"(p. 187). In theirself-assessment
of cultural
perspectives
you mightroutinely
DillerandMoule (2005) used itemssuchas recognizing
biasedlanguageandmedia,
competence,
theabilityto addressstereotypes,
andunderstanding
andracialidentity
as
oppression
development
indicators
ofcultural
competence.
One preserviceteachermay clearlyunderstand
thatshe has muchto learnin the area of
in
She
will
listen
a
course
on
multicultural
issues in education,engagingthe
diversity.
openly
coursecontentand her own biases. She has a willingnessto recognizethepossibilitythather
thatis notsharedandvaluedby othersandvice versa.
assumptions
maybe rootedin a worldview
she maybeginto understand,
forexample,how hermembership
in
Throughtheself-assessment
different
thepowershepossesses,andhowtouse thatpowerconstructively.
groupsinfluences
Anotherpreserviceteachermaybe intelligent
and capable of criticalanalysis,yetsees the
worldthrough
a singularlens.Not able to recognizeandvalue otherperspectives,
he maynotbe
able to engagethe contentduringa courseon multicultural
issues; he may not recognizehis
limitedperspective;and defending
his position,he may be resistantto come to multicultural
awarenessandtherefore,
and lack of competencies
culturally
competent
teaching.Theseattitudes
willcomeoutinbothsubtleandexplicitwaysintheclassroom.
Helms (1990) describedthe struggleEuropeanAmericanshave confronting
theirown
transitions
use Helm's model of racial
throughstages of racial identity.Several researchers
fortheorizing
identity
whyWhitepreserviceteachershave barriersforunderstanding
diversity
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
611
(Bollin & Finkel,1995; Marshall,2002; O'Donnell,2002). Theirfindingssupporttheauthors'
work withpreserviceteachers,and suggestthatunless the identitydevelopmentis directly
addressed,otherstrategies
mayfail.The authorstaughta modifiedversionof Helms' theoryin
recentyears and thatgroupof preserviceteachershad some familiarity
withracial identity
as a means of helpingthemto negotiatetheirthinking
development
throughtheirchanging
perspectives.
Because of thecommitments
to fairnessand equality,"Are ourprogramsand coursessafe
in
which
to
in whichthe
"Safe" is definedas an environment
places
changeperspectives?"
of
each
individual
are
considered.
The
authors
with
Burbules
who
believed
feelings
agree
(1993)
thatsensibleand fairrulesofparticipation
arenotenoughto makea classroomfeelsafeformany
students.
Burbulesnoted,"It oftenwill notbe enoughjust to listen;one mighthave to workto
in whicha silencedvoice feelstheconfidence
createan environment
or security
to speak"(p. 33).
Are theresafe and supported
contextsin whichto learnand changethinking?
Not onlyis this
essentialforthegrowthof thepreservice
it is also important
to modelthis
teachersthemselves,
fortheirfutureclassrooms.Anotherkey questionis: "Is this classroomsafe for
atmosphere
children
of color?"Thisquestionof "is it safe?"was definedas a centralteachercharacteristic
in
theresearchofGonsalves-Pinto
in
and
Moule
and
the
work
of
others
(1997)
(1998)
implied
(Jupp,
2004; Moule, 1991, 2004; Nieto, 1994; Noddings,1997; Parsons,2005). The missionwas to
withmarginsof safetyforthepreservice
teachersin thestudygroup.They
provideopportunities
need safe environments
fortheirown growthas well as a modelto followso thattheycould
fortheirstudentsof color and a solid foundation
for
providesafe and growingenvironments
forall oftheirstudents.
understanding
diversity
The recognition
of societaland personalbiases is not easy,especiallyamongthosewhose
isolationhas allowedthemthe choiceto ignoremattersof race. The authorshave made every
to structure
theprogramand interactions
so thatthe exchangeswere open and honest.
attempt
wereincludedforeach authorto privately
Duringthetimein thislargeurbanarea,opportunities
the
witheachpreservice
teacher.Theirpersonaljournalsindicated
exchangeverballyorin writing
importance
theyplacedon thisspaceandtimetoreflect.
This supported
in thecultureof a predominantly
immersion
AfricanAmericanschoolin an
innercityshouldgivethepreservice
teachersa uniqueperspective
and opportunity
to experience
in
a
different
American
environment.
Also
mentor
teachers
who
were
African
teaching
having
shouldenhancethisplacementand give the preserviceteachersadded perspectives.
As other
studieshave been enlightening
(Sleeter,2001; Sobel & French,1998), it is hoped thatthis
in their
wouldchangethepreservice
teachers'thinking
aboutdiversity
andbe reflected
experience
classrooms.
Methodology
and Timeline
Participants
in the
The PreserviceTeachers.The preservice
teacherswerepartofa cohortof 60 students
PTEP. In OctoberandNovemberof theresearchyear,all membersof thecohortwereinvitedto
two workshops,one on culturally
and one on culturallyresponsive
responsivemathematics
forunderstanding
andteachingin a diversesetting.
science,inpreparation
Duringthemathematics
two
of
the
African
a
American
mentors
came
from
urban
areato theUniversity.
workshop,
large
In March,a monthbeforetheplacement
the
13
students
who
were
to
takepartin thethreebegan,
week urbanimmersionmet togetherforthe firsttime as a subsetof the cohortto discuss
details.
placement
The MentorTeachers.The fiveAfricanAmericanmentor
teachersin thisstudyrangedfrom
a first-year
teacherto a teacherwhoplannedto retirethefollowing
year.Theytaughtin gradesK
5. All werefemale.Table 1 presentsthepreserviceteachersand theirplacementswith
through
African
AmericanorWhiteteachers.
612
© TheJournal
2007,Vol.76,No.4
ofNegroEducation,
Table 1
AmericanMentors
PreserviceTeachersGenderandPlacementWith
African
PreserviceTeacher
Male
X
X
X
X
Mentor
Female
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
AfricanAmerican
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
White
x
x
x
x
forthisstudyare an AfricanAmericanfemaleAssistant
The Researchers.The researchers
at a largeResearchI institution.
Professor
anda EuropeanAmericanfemaleAssociateProfessor
Mode ofInquiryand Data Sources
This studyused qualitative
methodsof inquiryforitsprimary
sourcesof data.University
faculty
memberswereparticipant
observers
who keptfieldnotesduringthethree-week
on-siteteaching
experience.Some descriptivestatisticswere also collected.The followingdata sourceswere
obtainedduringthecourseoftheschoolyearandindicatethetypesofdatausedintheanalysis:
•
•
•
•
fromthepreservice
teachersatthebeginning
ofthisstudy
Applications
Observations
ofpreservice
teachers'teaching
anduniversity
bymentors
faculty
TaskAnalyseson bothpreservice
teachers'andmentors'
teaching
Preservice
teachers'worksamplesthatincludedpreand posttestsof student
achievement
and reflections
on their
teaching
• Preservice
teachers'journalsduringtheirtimeat Hamer(theseincludedinteractive
comments
fromus)
• Preservice
whentheyreturned
teachers'reflections
totheirprimary
placement
• Researcher
notesandself-study
Data Analysesand Results
Most of thematerialsharedand quotedin thisstudywas fromthepreservice
teachers'journals.
Thisbodyof materialwas analyzedusinga constantcomparative
method.Itemswerecodedby
conducted
topicand new topicswere added as theyappearedin thejournals.Bothresearchers
andthencomparedtheirresults.
independent
codingofthematerial
and abilityto work
Analysisof thedata showedthatthepreserviceteachersunderstanding
withdiversepopulations
was greatlyenhancedas indicatedby severalmeasures.The researchers
firstdescribedthe preserviceteachersand the mentorteachersand then detailedthe new
Next they analyzed
perspectivesof the preserviceteachersas evidencedby self-report.
observationsof theirteachingefficacyin a culturallydiversesetting.Finally,the authors
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
613
considered
theimpactofthementor
teachersandpreservice
teacherpeerson thelearning
gainsof
thepreservice
teachers.
Narratives
werehighlyvaluedas meansof exploringand reporting
research(Eisner,1997;
1996; Huberman& Miles, 1994; Moule,2005; Scheurich& Young,
Higgins& Goodhue-Pierce,
extendedexcerpts
fromthedatahavebeenincluded.The authorsalso purport
that
1997);therefore
thismethodof reporting
is morelikelyto be remembered
and transferred
intopracticeby others
(Schank,1990).
ChangingLevelsofPreserviceTeachers9Engagementand Perspectives
For mostof thisresearch,thedata fromtheeightEuropeanAmericanpreserviceteacherswho
wereplacedwithfiveAfricanAmericanmentors
wereused. As an introduction,
each preservice
teacherwas allowed to speak by answeringquestionsposed to themon theirapplicationsin
in thisproject?Whatdo youbringto thisproject?Whatdo you
August:"Whyareyou interested
inthisproject?"
hopeto gainfromparticipating
JC.The area in whichI wantto moveis verydiverseand I wouldlove to getthisexperience... I am open-minded
andlovenewandexcitingsituations.
I wantto learnaboutnewcultures.
LD. The reasonthatI am veryinterested
in thisprojectis because I have . . . verylittleexperiencewithdiverse,
multicultural
settings.
FH. I havenothad anyexperiencein a verydiverseclassroom.I am movingto California. . . afterI graduate... it
will be muchdifferent
... I hopethechildrenand teacherscan helpto broadenmymindand knowledgeregarding
all children'sneeds.
meeting
AH. . . a greatopportunity
to ... see how classroommanagement
and curriculum
workswitha highlydiverse
in diverseclassroomsettings.
I hope to gain a different
on
population... I thriveand am interested
perspective
usedin an urbanareasincein thefuture
thatis whereI wouldliketoteach.
teachingmethods
JK.I havegrownup in a ruralareaduringmylifeand I haveneverbeenexposedto thecityin an educationalsense.
I am lookingat thisprojectin hopes of expandingmyknowledgeand experienceof workingwiththe
Therefore,
childrenin thisarea.I will learnaboutthecultureofthecityand itschildren
whilelearningaboutmystrengths
and
weaknesses.
CL. A desireto workin urbanelementary
to [thecity](myoriginalhome). . . Experiencein
schools,a commitment
an urbanelementary
ofnon-middle
class and/or
non-Whitebackgrounds.
school,experience
servingstudents
SM. I hopeto gainan idea ofwhatan underrepresented
areais reallylikeandhowI respondto suchan area.
DS. Desireto workwithkidsI can possiblyrelatemoreto (i.e., poor,singleparent).A richerexperience.
Compare
thelargeurbanareacommunity
withtheUniversity
town.
In February,
whenaskedto sharethreewordsreflecting
theirfallwalk-about
dayswhenthey
firstvisitedHamerSchool,theyusedwordsthatindicatedincreasing
emotionalandpsychological
connections
to theschooland thechildren,
suchas, warm(3 times),energetic(twice),friendly,
Thislistrevealedan increasing
levelofengagement,
culture,
family,
welcoming,
mutual-curiosity.
to
showingthatthe preserviceteachershad moved fromjust observingtheirenvironment
in it.
participating
The earlierlist was comparedto one at the end of placementin May withthe following
tired,challenged,
responses:lucky, thrilled,enlightened,enthusiastic,enriched,fortunate,
list
Whilethefirst
attached,
care,learning,
needs,and"sad to leave,"and"expecttheunexpected."
is moredescriptive,
that
thesecondis moreaction-oriented,
the
teachers
are
revealing
preservice
invested.They have moved froma detachedoutsiderperspectiveto an emotionalinsider
perspective.
It is not surprising
thatthepreserviceteachersbegan to feel thattheywere a partof the
However,thewordsthattheyused to describetheiroriginalsettingwhen
learningcommunity.
theyreturnedto theirUniversitytown are even more revealing.Many preserviceteachers
614
© TheJournal
2007,Vol.76,No.4
ofNegroEducation,
withtheirstudentsat Hamer.Those
comparedtheirprimary
placementstudents
spontaneously
statements
included:"Less contact,less eye contact,""too cool," "just going throughthe
motions,""phonysweet. . . less connected."These termsexpresseda new positivevalue fora
culture
theydidnotknowbeforetheplacement.
ProfileofOne AfricanAmericanMentorThrougha PreserviceTeacher'sEyes
This glimpseof one mentorteacherwas used to beginto understand
thementorteachersas a
One
teacher
described
and
scared, apprehensive"
group.
preservice
feeling"overwhelmed,
during
herfirstweek. AfterherAfricanAmericanmentorteacherspentlong hoursgivingher strong,
clearwordson teaching,encouraging
herpersonally,
and supporting
herin herplacement,
this
samepreservice
teacherproduceda worksampleshowingimpressive
student
achievement.
These
interactions
were foundations
forthechangesin engagement
and subsequenteffective
teaching
strategies.
The followingexcerptsweredetailsfromone preservice
teacher'sdailyjournaland showed
notonlytheteacher'schangingperspective,
butalso provideda vitalpictureof thepassionand
concernthatseemedtobe evidentinmanyofthementors
attheschool.
4/14and4/15- I see her[Mentorteacher]as a verystrong
nurturer
andsheknowsthekidson manydifferent
levels.
. . . L takeson thisamazingnurturer
role. . . sheremindsme ofmygrandmother
whois verycompassionate,
loving,
andWISE.
4/16- She letsthemknowwhenshe is happywiththem,butshe has no hesitations
to revealto themwhenshe is
her.She is trulyin thisforthekidsand I knowthatI will learnverymuch
upset.... I amjust captivated
watching
fromher.
4/17- L is brutally
honestwiththechildren,
whichI admire,yetthishonestycouldbe perceivedas harshand very
authoritarian.
This honestymaynotflyin a different
culture.However,theyknowthat
settingand witha different
shecaresandrespectandloveherevenwhensheis yellingatthemoropenlysayingthatsheis madanddisappointed
at them.She will raisehervoicejust as quickand shewill softenitand sootheandnurture
thechildren.
Controland
in thisenvironment.
She knowsthatall ofherstudents
areverycapableand she wantsto
respectareveryimportant
see all ofthemsucceedin schoolandin thegameof life.I do believethatifL was too softandnon-responsive
with
thestudents,
aredefinitely
and
theywouldviewitas "non-caring."
Pretty
crazy!Culturaldifferences
shiningthrough
thisresearchis veryinteresting
to me. It definitely
changesthewayI willplanmylessonsandhowmyexpectations
will haveto be statedveryclearlyand followed-up
on. By no meanscouldI evermanagetheclass theway L does,
butI haveto remember
to be strongand firmand to notback down.I tendto be "toonice" sometimes.
I am a little
nervousaboutthis.
NewPerspectives
A trainof thought
thatemergedfromtheabove preservice
teacher'sjournalshoweda pattern
of
similardevelopment
several
teachers:
The
teachers
found
a
more
among
preservice
preservice
authoritarian
evidentat thisschool.Preservice
teacherssaid thingslike,"class
disciplinestructure
management
styletakes gettingused to," "assertive,""need to establishsense of authority,"
honestwiththestudents
. . . harsh,"and "themorestrictI become,thebetter
"[mentor]
brutally
theyget,"even,"no moreMr. Nice Guy." The studentsfounda moreauthoritarian
discipline
structure
evidentatHamercomparedtotheirprimary
intheUniversity
town.
placement
Atthesametime,thepreservice
teachersnoticeda balancetothismoreauthoritarian
structure
and manyfelttheirAfricanAmericanmentors,
in particular,
"caredmore."Commentsincluded:
and aide] caredeeply,""compassionate,
"[mentor
loving,wise,honest,""different
teachingstyle
connectedto caring."These comments,again, were made in a comparisonto theirprimary
intheUniversity
town.
placement
Examples of the preserviceteachers' surprisesabout theirnew settingincludedtheir
withthe students:"deep rapport,""neverknew how exciting
unexpecteddeep relationships
a long-lost
could
"treated
like
"warmth
andcompassion."Somedevelopeda
be,"
friend,"
teaching
moreaccurateunderstanding
of theirstudents'environments:
"surprisedhalf of the class had
at home,""I'd heard'citykids weren'tinterested
in learning'. . . foundopposite,"
computers
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
615
"very familyoriented,watch out for each other,""parent/teacher
relationshipstronger,"
"comfortable
walkingin community."
NewPerspectives
Lead toEffective
New TeachingStrategies
As preservice
teachersfoundthedichotomy
thatbothstrictness
and caringincreased,
theymoved
to be both strictand more caring.The preserviceteachersself-reported
this changein their
The authorsalso notedevidenceof theirteachingeffectiveness
as observedby others,
strategies.
and reporttwo objectivefindings:the firstis an analysisof on-taskbehavior;the secondis a
measureofstudent
achievement.
On-Task Behavior Analysis. A measureof studentengagementduringthe preservice
teacher'steachingtimeis one measureof thepreserviceteacher'seffectiveness.
An exampleof
sucha measurewouldbe a timedobservation
of on-taskbehaviorforeach student.
As a baseline,
teachers
were
asked
to
measure
student
a
similar
lesson
preservice
engagement
during
taughtby
the mentorteacher.The targetperformance
measurewas thatstudentengagementduringa
teacher'slessonwouldbe 80% of thatobservedduringa mentor'slesson.The actual
preservice
resultsofthisanalysisarethatstudent
on-taskbehaviorduringthepreservice
teacher'slessonwas
95% of theon-taskstudent
behaviorduringthementor
teacher'slesson.The resultis 15% better
thananticipated.
The authorsconcludedthatthepreserviceteacherswereable to use classroom
thatreflected
bestpracticesas measuredbystudent
on-taskbehavior.
techniques
StudentAchievement.Pre-andpost-assessment
information
on the students
is theclearest
content
whichshowsthepreservice
teachers'ability
wayto reportincreasein student
knowledge,
to use successfulteachingstrategies.
Each preservice
teacher'spre-andpost-testsweredifferent
on thesubjectareaschosenor assignedandthebenchmarks
used.All ofthepreservice
depending
teachersreported
in theunitobjectiveswhichweretiedto statebenchmarks
student
achievement
and commoncurriculum
in a
goals. An examplefroma 10-lessonworksampleon measurement
fourth
classroom
A
is
that
of
21
a
showed
six
students
out
had
grade
provided: pre-test
good
ofthematerial.
A posttest
showedthat16 ofthe21 couldsuccessfully
understanding
completethe
material.
Thisis an increasefrom29% to 76% ofthestudents
in thisunitdue
knowingthecontent
tothepreservice
teacher'sefforts.
Anotherpreserviceteacher'sassessmentat the kindergarten
level showed20 out of 23
studentsscoringthemaximumpointson theposttest.These studentsincludedtwo out of three
students
withlearningdisabilitiesforwhomshe successfully
adaptedthelesson.She concluded
thattheassessment
showed,"directevidenceofstudent
gains,"leavingher"ecstatic."
The foundation
fortheselearninggainsin boththestudents
in theclassroomand theothers
involvedin thisprojectwas oftentherelationship
betweenmentorandpreservice
teacher.Thisis
further
exploredinthenextsection.
and Inferences
Takinga WiderLens: FurtherInvestigations
oftenhave a holisticquality.The authorsbeganto drawtheirconclusionsfroma
Interpretations
constant
detailedanalysis;however,as theyprogressed,
comparative,
theytooka wideranglelens
tothematerial.
Stake(1995) referred
to suchinterpretations
in thismanner,
The logicalpathto assertionsoftenis apparentneitherto thereadernorto theresearchers
themselves.
Whatwe
describehappeningin theclassroomand whatwe assertdo nothave to be closelytiedtogether.
For assertions,
we
drawfromunderstandings
whosederivations
deep withinus, understandings
maybe somehiddenmixof personal
assertionsof otherresearchers...It is notuncommonforcase studyresearchers
to make
experience,scholarship,
assertions
on a relatively
smalldatabase,(p. 12)
Some of the connectionsreportedshould be noted about the preserviceteachersand their
placements(see Table 2). A uniquefeatureof thisprojectwas theplacementof each preservice
teacherwitha mentorof color and/orwitha partner
preserviceteacher.Can we tease out any
616
© TheJournal
2007,Vol.76,No.4
ofNegroEducation,
did the
betweenhavingan AfricanAmericanmentoror not?And whatdifferences
difference
a
at
2
make?
the
database
is
look
Table
reveals
the
teacher
small,
Although
partner
preservice
teacher.One columnis a measureof"large
andpartners
foreachpreservice
matcheswithmentors
As theauthorsanalyzedthedata theyrealizedthatthe
gainsin workingwithdiversestudents."
original13 preserviceteachersin thisstudyhad varyinglevels of "gains"in theirperspectives
towardandabilitytoworkwithAfricanAmericanchildren.
Table 2
PreserviceTeacherPlacementWith
AmericanMentorsandPartnerPairs
African
.
™
Preservice
,
rr,
Teacher
Pair One
Female
Male
Pair Two
Femalea
Femalea
Pair Three
Female
Female
Pair Four
Malea
Female
Pair Five
Female
Female
Solo
Male
Female
Malea
AJ..
A
American
African
*M
j.
Mentors
„ .
. ..
T
Gains with
Large
r
.
kr
A
African
American
, ,
o.
Students
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Questionable
match
Questionable
match
Good match
Good match
X
X
X
Partneror Solo
..
^K
Match:
_ ...
Positiveor
~
.. , .
Questionable
X
Good match
Good match
Questionable
match
Questionable
match
Good match
Good match
X
X
aPreservice
in diversity.
teachershadpriorexperience
Solo
Solo
Solo
is based on theresearchers'
The gainin culturalcompetence
summation
ofpreservice
teacher
workandattitudes
as evidencedbypersonalinteraction
(Moule, 1998),changesin theirresponses
to a self-assessment
of culturalcompetence,
overallgrowthas shownin theirjournalentries,
and
on thequestion,"Whatdidyou learn?"Thisglobalassessment
is difficult
to quantify.
self-report
assessments
However,some research(Gladwell,2005; Moule, in press)indicatedthatintuitive
oftenmirror
and support
moreobjectivemeasuressuchas an analysisof written
At this
material.
the
authors
are
the
and
their
inferences
from
the
data.
point,
raising questions sharing
ThePresenceofan AfricanAmericanMentor
Did the presenceof an AfricanAmericanmentorhelp preserviceteachersnegotiatethe
morethoroughly
thanthosepreserviceteacherswho wereplaced with
racial/cultural
differences
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
617
otherteachers?Again,Table 2 revealsthatnineof thepreservice
teachershad AfricanAmerican
mentors.
Of thesenine,fivemadestrongpositivegainsin theirperspectives
towardand abilityto
workwithAfricanAmericanchildren.This findingseemsto supporttheconclusionthat,of the
teacherswhohadtheleastpriorexperience
withdiversity,
fiveoutofthesix whowere
preservice
intheroomwithan AfricanAmericanmentor
hadthelargestgainsfromthisplacement.
It is interesting
to notethatthreeof thefourpreservice
teacherswho had AfricanAmerican
mentorsand did nothave thesame typeof gainswerealso theones who had priorevidenceof
intenseexperiencein diversity.
It is logical thatthiswould be the case since thesepreservice
teacherscame intotheirplacementsat Hamerwithacquiredskillsand attitudes
based on their
in
histories
this
area.
The
researchers
that
also
found
teachers
who did not
previous
preservice
workwithAfricanAmericanmentors
didnotmakethesesamegains.Based on thislimitedstudy,
thegreatest
of Whitepreservice
teacherswho had limited
impactoccurredwiththecombination
in diversity
withAfricanAmericanmentors.
experiences
PartnersMay Make a Difference
whenpairswerewell-matched,
Table 2 may
Althoughtheexperienceitselfwas bettersupported
that
the
teachers
with
a
with
whom
had
wereless
suggest
preservice
placed
peer
they goodrapport
zone forgreaterlearning.In thesix cases wherepartners
had
likelyto moveoutof theircomfort
seemedto
good to excellentrapport,
onlyone who did nothave priorexperiencewithdiversity
makelargeglobalgainsin workingwiththisculturally
diversestudent
population.(It couldalso
be notedthatthewell-matched
pairsinthisstudywereall ofthesamegenderandthepairsthatdid
notseemwell-matched
weredifferent
at this
however,theauthorsofferno interpretation
genders,
point.)
Conclusions and Future Directions
Exploringthe new perspectivesthatresultedfromthis researchhas given insightsinto the
ofpreparing
teachersforculturally
classroomsthrough
relevant
complexities
preservice
pluralistic
fieldworkin culturally
diverseschools.Thiswas a difficult
and manylessonswere
undertaking,
learnedthroughinvestigating
some of the issues,problems,and successesbecause all triedto
makesenseofandgrowfromtheexperiences.
Whether
ornotstudieslikethismaybe generalized
is a matter
ofdebate.The authorschoseto
Ellis (1998)
relyon theresonancethisreporthas forotherteachereducatorsand researchers.
wrote,
A story's'validity'can be judgedbywhether
itevokesin readersa feelingthattheexperience
describedis authentic
and lifelike,
believableandpossible;thestory'sgeneralizability
can be judgedbywhether
it speaksto readersabout
theirexperience,
(p. 29)
Schank(1990) stated,"Further,
themoreone communicates
well,themoreone's listeners
maybe
able to respondwithrelevantexperiences
oftheirownthatmayaid in thegeneralization
process"
(p. 235).
The desireto return
to FannieHamerSchoolin thislargeurbanareais a burning
one.Beyond
thesharedresults,
theauthorscontendthatthistypeofplacement
is theonlywayone can beginto
ensureculturalcompetency
teachersthatcometo teacherpreparation
withlittle
amongpreservice
or no multicultural
or understanding.
read literature
thatsupports
background
Theyincreasingly
thenecessityof fieldwork,
and moreimportantly,
moderated
fieldwork
withsensitivefaculty
and
mentorteachersonsite(Bradfield-Kreider,
Duarte
&
&
1999;
Reed, 2004; Higgins Moule, in
& Gordon,2006).
press;Sleeter,2001; Watson,Charner-Laird,
Szcesiul,
Kirkpatrick,
The authorsare drivenby thepreservice
teachers'comments
suchas "I feellikeI was given
some sortof prizeor reward,""otherwise
unattainable
memoriesand experiences,"
"one of the
bestteachingexperiences
I have everhad,""experience
gave me a freshnewperspective,
energy
618
© TheJournal
2007,Vol.76,No.4
ofNegroEducation,
"I missthediversity,
"I learnedthatI value,respect,andneeddiversity,"
andexcitement,"
energy,
....
Unless
have
been
of
Hamer
and
overall
there,it is hardto describeto an
you
feeling
spirit,
outsider."
programthatplaced preservice
Followingthis study,the authorsinitiatedan immersion
and culturally
diversesettings.
As partof theimmersion
teachersfora fullyearin linguistically
teachersare requiredto moredirectly
studyand applyculturalcompetencies
preservice
program,
and to studyWhiteracialidentity
development.
Theyhave begunto weave theirstoriesof their
intotheirpapersanddiscussions.The authorsareusingtheresultsfromthis
identity
development
as an important
focusfor
development
studyto supportthe inclusionof Whiteracial identity
in accordancewithotherstudies(Burke,2007; Harris,2006; Johnson,
teacherpreparation,
2002;
Marshall,2002; O'Donnell, 2002; Ottavi,Pope-Davis& Dings, 1994; Tatum,1992), because
identitydevelopmentmust be an integralcompetencyfor teachingin a racially diverse
community.
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Authors
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JEANMOULE is AssistantProfessor,
Department
in Corvallis.She is co-authorof the book, Cultural
of Education,Oregon State University
A Primer
Competence:
forEducators.
KAREN M. HIGGINS is AssociateProfessor,
of Teacherand CounselorEducation,
Department
Corvallis.
CollegeofEducation,
OregonStateUniversity,
All comments
andqueriesregarding
thisarticleshouldbe addressedtomoulej@oregonstate.edu
© TheJournalofNegroEducation,2007, Vol.76,No. 4
621